last christmas

so i'm a little delayed... it's just extending the christmas spirit, right?

on christmas eve, i packed up my suitcase and headed down to the university to take the shuttle to the airport. i had a small panic when i had car trouble (and no plan b to meet the shuttle!), but in a small christmas miracle, i made it safe and in time. normally, i fly out of tucson, but this time it was cheaper to take the shuttle up to phoenix and hop on a direct flight to southern california. all in all, the travel time is about the same, but spending half as much time flying, and riding the shuttle instead was so much more enjoyable! i even got to make some good progress in a good book!

an uneventful, but full, flight brought me to my boyfriend, who picked me up at the airport and broke the news that we needed to do some last minute shopping. usually, i absolutely hate shopping on christmas eve. but i must say that it was not as bad as i was expecting. eventually, we made our way back to his parent's house and it was wonderful to see the family!

the boyfriend's family celebrates christmas on christmas eve, with presents, dinner, and all the trimmings. the baby (she's a year and a half now) had SO MANY PRESENTS! i must say, i got some good ones too :)  dinner was delicious, and it was great to be with family! the next day, we relaxed, watched tv, and enjoyed each other's company. i even got to read an entire book on christmas day - it was wonderful!

i spent the next few days enjoying the company of family and friends - a great way to spend christmas vacation! one of the best days was between christmas and new year's when the boyfriend and i spent the day at the happiest place on earth. i think everyone knows that I LOVE DISNEYLAND. and even though we went on a day that was so busy disney stopped selling tickets, i still had a good time. that's right, they stopped selling tickets. and you know that if disney stops any profit-garnering endeavor, it is serious. we waited in some seriously long lines (i thought the pirates of the caribbean line was for the haunted mansion!), but still managed to ride all of our favorites! we even managed a couple of runs on big thunder mountain railroad! i do love disneyland! we had a fantastic time, but were exhausted and ended our day before the park closed. it was a great way to end my SoCal holiday!